Sunday, October 26, 2014

Everybody, please go check out the We Need Diverse Books fund-raising campaign. Lots of good information over there about WNDB, which is dedicated to advocating and supporting non-majority narratives in children's literature. If you can, contribute; if you can't, consider passing on the news to someone else. Some of the prizes for contributing are pretty nifty: for writers, "Bypass the Query Queue" -- one pass to jump to the front line of an agent's inbox for a PB, MG, or YA manuscript. Another one for writers: an agent critique (MG and YA). For art lovers: original art by Cindy Pon, and let me tell you, I would be jumping on that. Go check it out!

Monday, October 20, 2014

I love Elizabeth Minkel's article in the New Statesman, "Read whatever the hell you want: why we need a new way of talking about young adult literature." It soothes my heartsore parts that are so tired of the condescension. Thank you, Elizabeth Minkel. Also, thanks for making me laugh when you said, "(I saw the piece somewhat misleadingly shared with the burning question, “What would Henry James think of YA?” and for the love of God, if there is a single person whose opinion on YA I care less about…)" HA HA HA HEE hoo, seriously, yes.

Also, I could listen to Ryan Keberle on trombone, Michael Rodriguez on trumpet, Jorge Roeder on bass, Eric Doob on drums and Camila Meza's vocals performing Sufjan Stevens' "Sister" over and over and over again. Check out these gorgeous lyrics and press play. "Sister" takes up the first 5:25 or so of the video. (You can download the mp3 for free here; click on "download audio".) (And if you can't see the video, go to that link or to my Blog Actual.)

"Sister"

What the water wants is hurricanes
And sailboats to ride on its back
What the water wants is sun kiss
And land to run into and back

I have a fish stone burning my elbow
Reminding me to know that I'm glad
That I have a bottle filled with my old teeth
They fell out like a tear in the bag

And I have a sister somewhere in Detroit
She has black hair and small hands
And I have a kettledrum
I'll hit the earth with you

And I will crochet you a hat
And I have a red kite
I'll put you right in it
I'll show you the sky

Saturday, October 18, 2014

So. As it says in my bio, "I grew up in the countryside of northeastern Pennsylvania in a village with cows and barns and beautiful views from the top of the hill and all that good stuff." This is true. It was beautiful, peaceful, and I miss it terribly. But… you know how distance provides perspective?

On a recent evening, one of my sisters texted me and another of my sisters to let us know that she was going back to our hometown for a night. She wanted advice on a place in the village where she and her friend might camp overnight without bothering anyone. I thought to myself, Oh, how lovely! I want to do that!… And then I tried to answer her question.

Shortly thereafter, I started taking screencaps.

Sharing them here, particularly for those of you who may have an idealized notion of country living in the USA. My contributions are in green on the right, my sisters' in gray on the left. The conversation is not continuous; I didn't take screencaps of our tangents, or of my sisters helping me remember directions.

To clarify: By "demented people," she means people who might threaten her with loaded guns.

To clarify: Yes. Our grandmothers, visiting together once from out of town, went out on a peaceful country walk and were charged by a bull. (They got away.)

I apologize for my language. You'd understand if you'd ever stood on the other side of a tiny, shaky little fence from that bull.

Silly Darren.

I was chased by a rooster once, too. If that doesn't sound scary to you, you have never been chased by a rooster.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

It's causing me pain that I am not reading all of these books this very moment. Also, I need to vacuum my rug.

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie StiefvaterThe Jewel-Hinged Jaw, essays on science fiction by Samuel R. DelanyCloud Atlas, by David MitchellOut of Left Field, by Liza KetchumWild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature, by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter D. SierutaThe Dispossessed, by Ursula Le GuinBirthmarked, by Caragh M. O'BrienWindow on the Square, "a novel of suspense" (according to the cover) by Phyllis A. Whitney The Other Side of Silence, by Margaret Mahy (how is there a Margaret Mahy novel I haven't read yet?)
A reduced bound manuscript I'm reading for blurbing that it now occurs to me I haven't gotten the okay to blog about. Sorry, I'm not being mysterious on purpose, I just don't have the time to retake the picture :o)

Quick Links

"Then, at last, sitting on her stretcher-bed, she took from the very bottom of her pack an old peacock-blue scarf folded around a heavy, square book. She unwrapped it and opened it very carefully, as if guilty secrets might fall from between its pages like pressed flowers. This was Harry's secret. She was a writer."

-from The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy

Writing is my secret. Every day I unwrap and open it as carefully as I can. Welcome to my blog about writing and life! Above you'll find quick links about me and my books, and below is more about me, ways to subscribe, and an archive of past posts. Click here to go home to my most recent posts.

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About the Author

Kristin Cashore wrote the New York Times bestsellers Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue, all of which have been named ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Her next book, Jane, Unlimited, comes out in September 2017. Graceling is the winner of the 2009 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature and Fire is the winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. The books are world travelers, currently scheduled to be published in thirty-four languages.

Finally, a note: This blog is my only online presence. I am not on Facebook, Google+, or any other social media sites, and I use Twitter solely as an amalgamation feed for my blog. Sorry, but I do not read @-replies on Twitter!